Street Science Steve

Husband and wife QUT alumni duo change the way young Australians see science.

Steve Liddell presenting at a recent alumni event in New York

From studying science at QUT, to teaching science to children across the east coast of Australia, alumnus Steve Liddell is changing the way young Australians approach STEM.

Steve studied a Bachelor of Applied Science at QUT, and is a qualified science educator who has a passion for bringing science to life.

His wife Kim also studied at QUT, and together they run Street Science, Queensland’s premier science show production.

Street Science is inspiring future generations, allowing students to investigate scientific principles through real life experiments and activities.

“Kids are interacting with science every day, through technology and nature, whether they know it or not,” Steve said.

Street Science aims to show kids science is involved in absolutely everything.

“Steve has always had a passion for the sciences and the environment – I think that’s why he enjoys teaching kids about the world around us in his shows,” Kim said.

As a former high school teacher, Steve had a vision to take his engaging style of science education out of the classroom and on tour around the state.

Street Science has seen this vision become a reality, as Street Science is Queensland’s number one provider of science engagement activities and recently, has received international attention after recently being invited to present at the World Science Festival in New York.

“Being a passionate science educator I want to see students excited about learning,” Steve said.

“We show students how science works, we make it contextualised for them and we teach them as we go.”

Steve has always had a passion for showcasing and experiencing science in a real world context.

One of Steve’s favourite memories while studying at QUT included one particular second year genetics class where he studied Mendelian inheritance, selectively breeding fruit flies and then exploring their genetic traits.

This love of hands-on science experiments is a clear theme in the Street Science workshops, with students being encouraged to create, explore and ask questions.

For those inspired by the entrepreneurial nature of Street Science, Kim has some advice.

“For anyone who has an idea, get some advice from people in that space, test it out in the real world to see if it is viable and only do something if you are truly passionate about it,” she said.

“Do what you are good at and connect with likeminded people, read, read and read some more about that industry and stay up to date with what is happening in that field.

“Finally, absolutely have a crack at making it work, work hard and you just never know what is possible sometimes!”